


The Promise

by ZillyVrilly



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Because you never see that around here, EnHANCE your life, F/M, M/M, Older! AU, This is from Hunks POV btw, Voltron who? Never happened, yep
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-26
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-10-24 09:05:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10738533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZillyVrilly/pseuds/ZillyVrilly
Summary: Somewhere in his heart, Hunk always thought that Lance would someday come around to reciprocate the strong feelings he had for him. This..crush he had always felt so one sided and childish to him. He was yearning and longing for someone who only sees him as a last resort.It kind of sucked.Au where Hunk and Lance promise to marry one another if they're both single by 30.





	1. Broken

It was only a silly little midnight promise. It shouldn’t mean this much to Hunk- but it did.

Hunk shouldn’t be laying in his bed at all hours of the night wondering if Lance even remembered what he promised him almost ten years ago. Ten years was a pretty long time. He doubted that he was even serious about it, anyway. Or was he? He could have been.

Ten, very long, years ago, Lance and Hunk made a promise. One they swore they would keep if all else failed.

Or, if the concept of being forever alone was actually starting to hit them.

_Ten Years Prior…_

“Okay, Hunk. I’ve got an idea.” Lance sat up on his bed, a tired look in his eyes. Hunk was at the headboard, sitting up on his phone. It wasn’t unusual that they’d spend all hours of the night laying on opposite ends of the bed, talking about anything that happened to come to mind. The two- Lance especially, were very “in the moment” kind of people. Hunk wasn’t sure what to expect from Lance, since almost anything could come out of his mouth at this point. It was a little after midnight, which meant that the “cryptid hours,” rightfully coined by Lance, was starting.

“This is either going to be really amusing or really bad..” Hunk commented, shifting in his spot as he gazed at Lance.

“No, no. I think it’s a pretty damn good idea, Big Guy. So before you say anything else, I’ll just tell you my idea now.” He paused as a small, yet shy smile formed on his face. That was..strange. “If we’re both single by the time we’re..oh Idunno, thirty? Let’s get married.”

Hunk didn’t know how to react at first. Part of him was happy that Lance would choose someone like him to marry but at the same time, he felt like a last resort. Hunk always liked Lance. Hell, he’s always had a small crush on him. Hunk just never had the confidence to tell Lance about it. Plus, he valued their friendship more than anything. He wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he somehow lost Lance.

Wait, is he being serious, though? Why would Lance joke about something as serious as marriage? Actually, he’d totally joke about something as serious as marriage. Hunk looked down at his hands, almost forgetting to respond to him.

“I..I mean. I think it’s a great idea…Probably. I don’t know how good of a husband you’d be, though.” Hunk joked, looking up at his best friend with a small smile. Lance rolled his eyes and laughed as he scooted closer to Hunk, holding his pinky out.

“I’d be a great husband. You’ll see if we don’t find other people before then. Now c’mon, pinky promise it.”

Hunk looked down at his own hands, then to Lance’s.  He wasn’t sure what he’d possibly be getting himself into, but whatever it was, he was more than okay with it.

“Okay, Lance, I promise.”

Their pinkies locked together in a tight embrace, then sealed the promise by pressing their thumbs together.

It was harmless. Totally, purely, harmless.

_Ten years preceding…_

Work started in five hours. That meant Hunk could get at least two hours of sleep before starting his day. He always made sure to block out enough time to shower, eat, and make the full hour commute to the company building. Working as a mechanical engineer was practically his dream job. Every day, he got to plan and build whatever was thrown at him. Eventually, whatever Hunk and his team prototyped would be tested to hopefully be used by someone on this planet. The company that Hunk works for is an affiliate with a high class physical therapy firm that specializes in high-tech prosthetics. One day, he’ll design a prosthetic arm that can connect with neurons in the brain, allowing it to be fully functional. The other, he’ll craft a prosthetic leg that has hyper realistic skin. Hunk was pretty damn proud of himself for landing this job, and would never replace it for anything in this world.

Hunk continued to lay in his bed, eyes blankly staring up at the ceiling. Today was Friday, which meant that he had his regularly scheduled bar meet with Lance.

_Lance._

Lance McClain was..something. He’s known him for over twenty years, now. Hunk could tell anyone Lance’s entire life story from beginning to finish without skipping over a detail, and vice versa. If anything, Hunk thought that he almost deserved to be with him at this point.

Being with Lance. Lance being his. He’s wanted that for years, but could never find the heart to tell him how he really felt. Sometimes, it seemed that Lance felt the same way about Hunk..until he’d go off and flirt with every breathing organism within their vicinity. That’s just how Lance is, though. Hunk has accepted that by now. There’s no way to change Lance- not that he’d want to, anyway.

One and a half hours left to get some rest.

Dark eye lids slowly closed as Hunk exhaled. He can’t be restless while at work. His team had to present a new prosthetic design to the physical therapy firm today; his own design, to be exact. Maybe he’ll just have to down some coffee before he goes in.

Sometimes Hunk wondered why he was so attached to the idea of being with Lance. There were other people in this world- Shay, for instance. She was nice, smart, beautiful..He saw her regularly, too. Hunk met her through work, and decided that he should keep in touch with her. The two got pretty close, almost too close, if Hunk were being honest. It was obvious that they showed strong interest in each other, but Hunk was too attached to the idea of Lance to even think about dating anyone.

Hunk thanked god for Shay, though. She understood why he was so afraid to commit to someone he wasn’t as attached to. She supported him all the way through and promised to stay that way.

Promise.

Hunk really..didn’t like that word anymore.

_Later that evening…_

“No, seriously, Hunk. These kids’ problems are the least they should be worrying about. I mean, one girl is stressed out because her boyfriend doesn’t text back right away, and this other girl is worried because her girlfriend texts back TOO fast. I don’t get it.” Lance worked as a high school counselor, which seemed to be easy enough. High schoolers normally need guidance trying to figure out what classes to take and what colleges to apply to, but of course, the personal problems are bound to arise. Lance never thought he’d deal with such…mundane issues, though.

“Well..I mean..” Hunk started as he took a sip of his wine that’s been sitting out for far too long, “I don’t see why texting back too fast is a problem. And some people..you know..actually have lives outside of their relationships.”

“That’s what I told both of them, Hunk! They still don’t seem to get it, though. Sometimes I wish I applied to work at colleges instead of high schools..” Lance rolled his eyes, letting out an exasperated laugh before sipping on the gin he had.

“Yeah, but you know you’d miss it if you really left. “ Hunk commented, giving Lance  a bit of a look.

“Hey, don’t give me that look, Hunk—Oh, shit, wait. I need your opinion on something.” Lance began to speak as he took his phone out. Hunk raised a brow, leaning forward on the table as he listened.

“So, you know how Nyma and I have been dating for a few years now, right? I think I might…reel her in.” As he spoke, he started to pull up some screenshots of engagement rings on his phone.

That’s right. Lance and Nyma have been together since Lance started his job at that high school. It’s been three years, to be exact.

Hunk always managed to block out the fact that Lance has been dating multiple people on and off since they made that promise to each other. Hunk’s been single the whole time.

Somewhere in his heart, Hunk always thought that Lance would someday come around to reciprocate the strong feelings he had for him. This..crush he had, always felt so one sided and childish to Hunk. He was yearning and longing for someone who only sees him as a last resort.

It kind of sucked.

Hunk tried to stop his expression from dimming, but it was nearly impossible. Lance noticed things like that quickly

“…Hey, Big Guy, what’s wrong? Are the rings really _that_ ugly?”

“What? Oh, no no no, I’m just..getting sick, is all. They’re both gorgeous, Lance..I think I like the second one best, though.”

 It hurt. All of it hurt. Hunk wanted to be selfish for once- to finally get what he wanted.

Things seemed to fall apart at every corner. Every stitch and seam was coming undone and detangling within his palms.

Hunk might be losing his chance with Lance, and he didn’t want to accept it.


	2. Hurt Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope someone gets the song reference in the title

Another restless night was ahead of Hunk, he could practically smell it. After he and Lance parted ways, Hunk pulled his phone out to give Shay a call. It was about…eleven in the evening but neither of them were early to bed. He prayed that she answered.

After about five rings, Shay finally picked up, her cheery voice ringing on the other side.

“Hey, Hunk! Is something wrong? You don’t normally call this late.”

“Uh, no. Well, actually uh. Yeah. Yes, something’s wrong. That’s..the reason why I called you, duh.” Hunk always verbalized his thought process. It either sounded smart or like the most ludicrous thing he’s ever said.

“Okay…So what is it?” Whenever Hunk called Shay late at night like this, it was for one of two reasons: to complain (which wasn’t that often), or to talk about work. It definitely wasn’t the latter.

“So, I was with Lance tonight- as usual, and he brought up uh…” Hunk drew in a breath as he closed his eyes for a moment. It shouldn’t be that big of a deal to him. It shouldn’t be hard to talk to Shay on the phone about this. “He’s going to propose to Nyma.”

On the other side of the line, Shay stayed quiet as she tried to muster a correct response. Although, there isn’t really a correct response for this situation.

“I… I’m sorry, Hunk. I know you really-“

“Love him. Yeah. I love him, Shay. And now I’m losing him.”

“…Yeah.  Do you..need me to come over? Talking about this in person may be more helpful than over the phone, you know?”

“I don’t think you’d want to see a big, tall, grown man cry over something like this.” Hunk let out a shaky breath as he spoke. He really should be happy for Lance.

Actually, he was happy for Lance. He just couldn’t help but to be selfish.

 

Hunk wanted Lance for himself, and he felt awful for it.

 

“No, no. I’m leaving my house right now. You need to talk things out.” Shay hung up, leaving Hunk by himself for a bit.

Hunk closed his eyes and took in a deep breath. He hated it when Shay insisted on talking out his feelings .

Although, he can’t fully admit that. He almost always left feeling a bit better than before. Shay worked wonders for him. No wonder she was so good at her job.

After about twenty minutes, there was a knock on Hunk’s door. He groaned as he sluggishly walked over to answer it.

Shay was quick to let herself in, grab Hunk by the wrist, kick the door closed, and sit both of them down on the couch.

Hunk appreciated Shay for a plethora of reasons. She was sweet, caring, smart, and knew when to buckle Hunk down when things needed to be talked about.

Not to mention that she was one of the most gorgeous women Hunk has ever seen in his life. The way that her short bobbed hair hugs her round face, her hazel colored eyes glistening in the sunlight- Hell, even the beauty mark under her left eye intrigued Hunk. She was beautiful inside and out.

How could a woman like that like a man like Hunk? A tall, heavyset, anxiety filled man with a beard that may or may not be attractive anymore. He looked scruffy and unkempt; as if he barely took care of his facial hair. However, Hunk only kept his beard because Lance suggested it.

 

Lance.

 

What other things did Hunk do because of Lance? Well, there were the matching tattoos they got when they were nineteen. They were of a tiny frog, all black, right on their ankles. Hunk’s was on his right, and Lance’s was on his left. A frog didn’t have that much significance to them, except for the fact that it literally is a reference to every meme that uses an amphibian.

 

Peer pressure was a bitch.

 

“Hunk, are you listening?” Shay asked as she reached out to touch his shoulder.

Fuck, he did it again.

“Yeah. I’m… I’m sorry.” Hunk sighed, leaning back into the couch as he ran his hands down his face.

“So he’s proposing, huh? Did you see it coming?”

“No. Definitely not. Absolutely not.” Hunk looked at Shay with tired eyes. On second thought, he did not want to talk about this right now. This stressed him out way more than it did before.

“Okay, and how does that make you feel?” Shay paused, then made a face. “Ugh, I sound like a generic shrink. But, my question still stands.”

“Like…Shit. I mean, I want him to be happy, but I don’t want to sound like a douche because I’m…jealous.” Hunk sunk into the couch as he looked up toward the ceiling, then back to Shay.

“Uh huh… and are you going to tell Lance how you feel?” At that, Hunk shot straight up, waving his hands in front of his chest and shaking his head.

“No, no no no. That is a no-go. That will never happen, Shay. I can’t just… _tell_ Lance that I love him when he _just_ told me that he’s proposing to Nyma!”

“Well, why not? If you don’t tell him, you’re probably going to live with the guilt of not telling him at all.” Shay raised an eyebrow at Hunk before speaking again. “Do you think that’ll make things awkward between you two?”

“Uh… yes. How is that even a question, Shay? I can’t have Lance feeling awkward around me for knowing that I’m practically in love with him and have been for the past… fifteen years. And then what if Nyma doesn’t want me around him because she thinks I’ll do something? Other than Pidge, Lance is literally all I’ve got.” Hunk stared at Shay for a moment. When did he start breathing heavily? Who knew, because he sure didn’t.“I really can’t risk that, Shay. I know you mean well when you tell me to talk things out with him, but I know Lance. He’ll either play it off or get really awkward about it and tease me for it. He’s got a big mouth, too. So there’s no doubt that Nyma would know within a few hours of me talking to him.”

“…Okay, here’s an idea. Get rid of Nyma.” Shay laughed quietly as she tried to quickly lighten the mood. Hunk blinked at her for a second.

“Get rid of Nyma? Murder is illegal, Shay.”

“That’s a shame.” Shay continued to laugh as she stood up. “I’ve got to go, though. I just wanted to make sure that you were alright. I have an early start tomorrow.”

Hunk stood next, keeping his eyes on Shay for a moment.

“Thank you for coming over anyway. And… I’m sorry for rambling earlier. That happens.” He laughed nervously as he gave Shay a small smile.

“I know. It’s what makes you, you.” Shay reached out, placing a gentle hand on Hunk’s shoulder before squeezing it. “Get some rest, tonight. You look like you need it.”

“Yeah. Goodnight, Shay.” Hunk lead Shay to the door as they exchanged goodbyes, then watched as she drove off.

“I doubt I’ll get any rest.”

 

And he didn’t. Hunk stayed up for the rest of the night, wondering what he was going to do with himself.

 

_The next day…_

Somehow, Hunk was coherent enough to be around Lance, despite the fact that he hadn’t slept the night before. Lance called him at around noon, asking if he could stop by to discuss the proposal. Part of him wanted to say no, to say that he wanted no part in helping him. But how could Hunk refuse helping his best friend? How could he not help him at all?

 

Maybe Hunk was too soft.

 

“Okay, so I have no idea how to propose to her. I just know that I wanna do it soon.” Lance said, sitting back on one of Hunk’s dining room chairs. Hunk was only a few feet away, cooking lunch for the two of them.

“Just take her out to dinner and propose to her in the restaurant.”  Hunk said as he looked over his shoulder. “That’s simple enough.”

Lance waved his hand, dismissing that option.

“Nah. Too public.”

“… Lance, you love being the center of attention.”

“… Right.”

Hunk turned back to making two BLT sandwiches. Each of them liked theirs a certain way, and Hunk was sure to remember that. Lance had two tomatoes and lettuce at the top and the bottom. Hunk only liked one tomato, but a lot of bacon. At this point, Hunk could make a cookbook dedicated to the way the two of them liked their food.

After getting one sandwich done, he placed it on a plate and got to work on the second. Thinking about how Lance could propose to Nyma physically hurt him. He didn’t want to think about it at all, but he might as well give him ideas anyway.

“How about you spell out ‘Will You Marry Me?’ in chocolates on a bed with the room decorated and fancy music in the background?”

That totally wasn’t exactly how he wanted Lance to propose to him someday. Not at all.

 

… It definitely was.

“That’s pretty specific, Big Guy… But I actually like that. I think that’s the one.” Lance smiled, sitting up this time. Hunk didn’t expect Lance to actually want to go with that idea, and somehow, it stung even more. At that realization, Hunk gripped onto the spatula between his fingers. He was glad that Lance couldn’t see him right now, or else he’d notice that there were tears welling up in his eyes.

He was god awful for wanting Lance even after knowing that he was about to be engaged.

“I’m glad you like it. Really glad. Y’know, I’m happy for you, Lance. I’m glad you found someone.”

Wrong. He wasn’t glad. He was jealous, enraged, and empty, but there was no way he could let Lance know that.

“Thanks, Hunk! Hey, I was thinking. Why aren’t you and Shay a thing? I thought you two liked each other?”

That was a jab to the chest.

“I mean, yeah, I guess we do. I don’t know, I think we’d just work better as friends. Plus, we work together. That’s unprofessional, isn’t it?” Well, Hunk wasn’t totally wrong.

“Sure, but Nyma and I work together and we’re totally fine. You should ask her out on a date sometime! We’re each other’s wingman, remember? I help you, you help me.” Lance smiled as Hunk brought over both of their plates, then sat down.

“Eh, I don’t think so. Thanks, though.”

 

The rest of that afternoon only grew more and more painful. Lance had dragged Hunk to the jewelers to pick up the ring after they finished lunch.

  
The urge to gouge his eyes out only grew stronger and stronger from then on.


	3. Through the Fire

A few weeks had gone by, leaving Hunk to wallow in a pit of misery whenever he wasn’t working. 

 

As for Lance, he was proposing to Nyma tonight.

Hunk couldn’t believe that Lance was proposing to Nyma. Aside from being jealous, Hunk had a ‘strong disliking’ towards her. He never truly hated anyone, nor could he bring himself to use that word about a person.

 

Morals aside, Nyma always rubbed Hunk the wrong way. The way she held herself as a person, the way she acted toward Lance, and her overall presence made Hunk uncomfortable. She demanded attention from him and him alone, always got what she wanted—it made him sick.

Hunk swore she was a gold digger at first.

 

Hell, he still thinks that’s the case.

 

Hunk could remember the pang that struck his chest when Lance introduced him to Nyma. He also remembered the sour expression that would appear on Nyma’s face whenever he was around them. It’s almost as if she viewed Hunk as competition—Hunk didn’t know why, though. She was a beautiful broad that had no reason to be jealous of anyone.

The way her long, dirty blonde hair brought out her sun kissed skin, the way it fell to her mid back, the way it brought out the sharp features on her face—it was awful. Nobody should be that gorgeous.

 

And for some reason, one that he could not explain, the freckles that dusted her cheeks and danced across the bridge of her nose gave her just the smallest amount of innocence. To Hunk, freckles were a sign of purity. Anyone he’s met that had been blessed with freckles didn’t have a mean bone in their body.

 

Nyma quickly broke that streak.

 

Another thing Hunk didn’t understand about Nyma was the fact that she was a teacher. How could someone like her be responsible for teaching the youth of America? How?

 

Before Hunk could think about anything else, he was brought back to reality by the subtle ringing of his phone. Why was it so quiet?

 

Oh, right. He left it in his bedroom so he wouldn’t have the urge to text Lance while he was having dinner with Nyma. That was about an hour or two ago.

 

With a huff, Hunk lifted himself from his couch to retrieve the device. It couldn’t have been anyone important, but there was no harm in checking.

 

As Hunk picked up his phone, his brows furrowed. Lance was calling him.

This was probably his victory call.

 

“Hey, Lance.”

 

Hunk mentally prepared himself for Lance’s phone call, for the long rambles about his and Nyma’s future together, and the constant yelling that would have been on the other line for weeks. He was starting to accept that Lance would never be his, that he would never have the chance to tell him how he feels.

 

“Hunk, she said no.”

 

Even after agonizing over the many things wrong with Lance and Nyma’s relationship, not once did Hunk think that she’d turn him down.

 

As bad as it sounded, Hunk was happy. He was happy in a crappy, selfish kind of way. His feelings didn’t matter right now, though (it’s not like they ever do). Lance needed someone right now.

 

“Buddy? You there?” Lance asked, his voice shaky.

 

“Yeah, I’m here. Sorry. What happened?” Hunk sat down on the edge of the bed, then pressed his back to the sheets. This was going to be a long talk.

 

“Nyma’s been cheating on me this entire time,” he began, “she deliberately planned to be with me until I asked her to marry me. She’s been using me for three years, Hunk!” As Lance continued, his anger and frustration became apparent.“ She tried to make it better by saying that she genuinely liked me at first, but I just never satisfied her enough. She found some other guy about a year in, but never let me go because I always bought her gifts. She fucking used me, Hunk.”

 

Hunk stayed quiet as he waited for Lance to calm down. He could hear his heavy breathing every now and then. He knew that Lance needed to take his time when he was angry. He would go on small tangents, stay quiet, then start up again.

 

“Why would she wait this long to break things off with me? She waited until I wasted my money on a ring and restaurant reservations… Hunk, she literally used me! She completely fucked me—and not in the way I like, either.”

 

“Lance—“

 

“I know, I know, I shouldn’t joke right now. I just need to cope.” As Lance huffed on the other end, Hunk swore he could almost feel the fumes coming through the receiver.

 

“Do you want me to come over so we can talk about it more?” Hunk asked, now sitting up.

 

“Por favor.”

 

“Got it. I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

 

Hunk was there in, quite literally, a few minutes. Living close to each other had its perks, tonight’s situation being an example. Hunk raised his fist to knock on the door, but was stopped when it opened. The taller man was greeted by his best friend, eyes red, hair disheveled.

 

He couldn’t take it already.

 

Lance looked up at Hunk, a tired look in his eyes. He stepped out of the way to let Hunk in, then leaned against the door after closing it.

 

“ _ Mierda _ …” Lance started, running his hands through his hair, “thanks for coming over, Hunk. Don’t know what I’d do without you, buddy.” As he finished speaking, Lance’s voice cracked. Hunk could tell that he was more than broken up about it. He felt even worse for being happy about the breakup.

 

“It’s no problem, seriously. You know I’m always here for you.” Hunk took in a breath, keeping his gaze on Lance. To his knowledge, Lance has never been in a situation like this before, otherwise his reaction would be different.

 

Totally different.

 

After getting Lance to sit down, the two stayed quiet for a moment. It wasn’t that Hunk didn’t know what to say—actually, that’s exactly what it was. There was no right thing to say at all.

 

“So, um. Nyma just… told you? That she was cheating and all.” Hunk asked, hoping that he’d get Lance to talk a little.

 

“Yeah. She just…” He began, sinking into the couch as he spoke, “the moment I pulled the ring out, she gave me this look. She looked pretty upset, so I knew it wasn’t that kind of soft look you get before happy crying, you know? Anyway, she stopped me and just told me everything.”

 

Hunk squinted for a moment, then raised a brow. “What do you mean by everything?”

 

“I mean… from start to finish, what she did while we dated. So, long story short, I was being played like a violin. A really good violin, too. She even told me who she cheated on me with. Don’t know what good that’ll do for either one of us, but I know, now.” Lance huffed, turning his gaze over to Hunk.

 

As Lance explained himself, Hunk tried to contain the anger that boiled inside of him. He wasn’t a fighter at all, but for Lance, he’d do almost anything. Emphasis on almost.

 

“I’m sorry, Lance…”

 

“I loved her, man. I don’t—“

 

“I know, Lance.” It took a lot for Hunk to refuse a reaction.

 

“No, I really, really loved her, Hunk.”

 

“I  _ know _ , Lance. I know.” It was hard for that tone of voice to not sound like irritation, but it was.

 

“Three whole years, down the drain. It’s like I wasted an entire part of my life on her.” After that, the two of them fell silent for a few minutes, giving each other quick glances here and there. Hunk finally found the courage to speak up, though.

 

“I never liked Nyma, anyway.”

 

“Huh?” Lance had given Hunk his full attention at this point as he shifted his whole body to face him. “I thought you liked her?”

 

“No, no I didn’t, Lance.” Hunk thought that if he was going to have his ‘I told you so’ moment, it might as well have been now. “She was rude to both of us. She hated being around me because I took your attention away from her. It was pretty obvious. I mean, I never would have said this when you two were together but now I feel like it’s okay to say. Kind of. Anyway, I meant what I said.”

 

Hunk is far too nice for his own good. Even that was a stretch for him and both of them knew it.

 

“So, you’re telling me that I was more oblivious than normal?” Well, Lance wasn’t wrong.

 

“I hate to admit it, but yeah.” Hunk sighed, twisting his lips a bit as he looked at Lance. He gave Hunk a defeated look before pulling his phone out.

 

“Cosmic Pizza or that Mediterranean place?”

 

“It’s one of those nights again?”

“Yeah.”

  
“Cosmic Pizza. I’ll grab the wine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit short, but essential things happen! Next chapter, things will slow down a bit but then pick up in the future!
> 
> Also I thought I'd drop my twitter and tumblr here because why not! Im goshikiyun on both c:


	4. L'ou Alofa

Wine may or may not have been the best idea for Lance that night. Lance was, and always will be, a lightweight. It was always hilarious to see Lance quickly spiral into a drunken state, but once he was there, he was there for a long time. Part of Hunk wanted to stop Lance, but he knew that he wanted an escape from reality.

 

Maybe that’s what he needed, too.

 

After about an hour of drinking and downing pizza far too greasy for comfort, the two decided to slow things down. They ended up on the couch, the TV on (Star Trek, to be exact), and tired. Lance turned to Hunk, a quizzical expression on his face.

“Hey, I have a question.”

 

Hunk shifted in his seat, leaning his cheek on the upper part of the couch. “Yeah?”

 

“Remember that nickname you used to call me? Uh.. Low A loaf of.” That was Lance’s poor attempt at the Samoan language.

 

After blinking a few times, Hunk finally realized what Lance meant. Hunk had given Lance a harmless nickname that only he would know the meaning behind. To Lance, the phrase  _ Lo’u alofa  _ meant ‘best friend.’ To Hunk, it meant ‘my love.’ He only chose that name because he knew Lance wouldn’t be able to look it up, let alone pronounce it to save his life.

 

Plus, what’s wrong with having a bit of fun?

 

“Oh, I guess I just stopped out of nowhere, huh? Also, you pronounced it wrong—as usual.” He paused, then shifted to get more comfortable. “Do you want me to start using it again? I mean, you stopped calling me  _ Hombre Grande _ even though you still kind of… do call me that.”

 

Lance shrugged, then glanced at the T.V long enough to slightly understand what was going on. “I mean, I don’t know why you ever felt the need to stop. I like it. It sounds nice. Your language is nice.”

 

Hunk laughed as he rolled his eyes. “I’m not even fluent in Samoan. I just know enough to get by, L’ou alofa.” Saying that put a smile on Hunk’s face. He missed secretly calling Lance his love.

 

Lance being  _ his. _

 

He being  _ Lance’s. _

 

God, he’s got to stop this.

The room fell silent then. Or, as silent as it can get with miscellaneous chatter from the TV in the background. Lance ended up staring at the ceiling, while Hunk stared at Lance, studying his expression. Hunk was surprised that Lance hadn’t gotten emotional yet. It was the one thing he feared before he made the trip to his house.

 

Actually, he spoke too soon.

 

Lance was sniffling. His fists were tightly clenched, and his body seemed stiff.

Dammit, Hunk was too intoxicated for this.

 

“I miss her, man…” Lance said, a few whimpers escaping his lips.

 

“Lance…” Hunk sighed, shifting closer to Lance to place a hand on his shoulder. As he got a better look at him, he noticed that Lance’s cheeks were stained with tears, while new ones dripped over them.

 

“I wasted so much time and money and love and—“ Lance stopped to whimper again, “she used me and lead me on. She made me believe that she actually loved me. I’ve never felt that way about someone.”

 

Well, that stung a bit.

 

“I know… I know. But everything’s over now, Lance. It’ll be okay.” Hunk rubbed circles on Lance’s shoulder, putting pressure down to massage it a bit. He knew that always relaxed him a little.

 

“I still have to see her at work five times a week, too. Just my luck, huh?” Lance squeezed his eyes shut as more tears flowed down his cheeks.

 

“I—Yeah, but you can try to avoid her? I mean, she teaches Health. Isn’t that in a totally different wing than the guidance office? You’ll only run into her during lunch breaks, Lance.” Hunk tried his best to make things seem better, but every other word out of his mouth felt like absolute bullshit. He was only trying to help.

 

Helping only went so far, though. Especially since he was half focused on the fact that Lance would have never had feelings for him in the past.

 

Pathetic.

 

“You should get to bed, Lance. Seriously,” Hunk said as he fumbled to his feet. He stared down at his best friend for a while, hoping that he would get up.

 

It took a minute or so, but Lance eventually stood.

 

With a half smile, Hunk hooked his arm behind Lance’s frame and guided him back to his room. Once he was in bed, Hunk was quick to seclude himself in the living room.

 

Hunk was barely in the right state of mind. Thinking straight was a long shot, but he would be damned if he didn’t try. As his chest tightened, Hunk laid back on Lance’s couch. Hunk wasn’t all that drunk, just highly buzzed.

 

Very buzzed. Wine didn’t do much for him since he was so heavy, but it did enough for that night. Hunk was an emotional drunk, so with his current emotional state so apparent, this wasn’t good.

With every burden laying heavy on his shoulders, Hunk honestly felt drunk. It was odd. Alcohol combined with an oncoming feeling of panic overwhelmed him. Everything was hitting one by one, repeatedly.

 

Hunk wanted Lance to himself. He wanted to tell him what he’s been thinking all these years. He wants him to know that he’s sacrificed his own happiness to someday have Lance as his partner; to tell him the real reason why he and Shay never got together. It was slowly eating him alive piece by piece, and it hurt to go on like this. The situation almost felt like self-inflicted torture.

 

Well, Hunk did do this to himself. It was his fault that Lance knew nothing about the way he felt. It was his fault that he was feeling like this right now. Maybe Lance could have been his years ago if he would have gotten the courage to say something.

 

Lance wouldn’t feel broken if that were the case.

 

Lance would be happy.

 

Hunk just wanted Lance to be happy.

 

But, he also wanted to be happy. It was a vicious cycle that he hated being a part of.

 

His chest was tightening again. Breathing became harder as time went on, and eventually, tears started to well up in his eyes.

 

Great, a panic attack while slightly buzzed in Lance’s house. This is definitely how Hunk wanted to spend his Saturday night.

 

Although his emotions got the best of him that night, he somehow managed to fall asleep for a few hours. The moment he woke up, he felt exhausted and uncomfortable. After getting up, he quietly made his way to Lance’s room to see if he had woken up.

 

Negative. He was still clung to his pillow, drool dripping from the corner of his mouth.

It was kind of cute.

Hunk left Lance’s room, then made his way to the kitchen. He knew Lance would be hungry, and would never let Lance attempt to cook with a hangover. Lance’s hangover breakfast consisted of cheesy scrambled eggs, two pieces of toast, three pieces of bacon, and apple juice. It was pretty simple, but Lance enjoyed the way that Hunk cooked.

 

Remembering that made him smile.

 

As Hunk prepared Lance’s breakfast, he constantly looked back to make sure that he wouldn’t sneak up behind him. Partially, he wanted the food to be a surprise, but he also didn’t want to face Lance just yet. If he could get this done before he woke up, that’d be ideal.

 

After about thirty minutes, Hunk prepared Lance’s breakfast to his liking, and made his departure. He was then home and sprawled onto his couch within a matter of minutes. Hunk closed his eyes as he breathed slowly, finally embracing the moment of solitude.

 

That was, until Lance called him ten minutes later. That was fast.

 

“Hey, thanks for breakfast and all, but why’d you leave?” Lance asked. Hunk was quite to mutter an excuse, but not without fumbling over his words.

 

“I… I, uh. I’m supposed to have a weekend conference call today, so I had to make sure that I was home with my notes and stuff. Important business stuff. “ Hunk scratched the side of his head, which was something he did when he was nervous—or in this case, lying.

 

“On a Sunday, huh?” Lance was skeptical, but didn’t drag it on yet.

 

“Yeah, Sunday was the only day that fit within everyone’s schedule. I totally forgot about it this morning before I left so I had to go. I’m sorry, Lance. But I can come back over afterwards if you want me to?”

 

“Why wouldn’t I want you to come over? I feel like crap.”

 

“Eat your hangover breakfast,  _ L’ou alofa _ .” It almost hurt saying that.

 

“Yeah, yeah. I will. Seriously, though. Come back over.” Lance paused for a moment, but interjected before Hunk could respond. “Please.”

 

Lance needed him right now, and he left him.

 

Why couldn’t he do just one thing correctly today?

 

“Okay, I promise. I gotta go now, though.”

 

“Alright, see ya, buddy.” Lance hung up. Hunk threw his phone to the floor.

  
He had an hour to get himself together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next few chapters will be more character/background development than anything, since Hunk and Lance need time for...a lot of things. Thanks for keeping up! (also sorry if the spacing is weird???)


	5. Old Connections

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here come Keith, Shiro, and Pidge. It's lit yall

Summer break was nearing for Lance, which meant the two would be engaging in their annual summer activity. For the past few years, Hunk and Lance chose something to learn over the break, and stuck with it the entire time. Last year was Salsa dancing, and the year prior was a musical instrument. Lance dedicated his time to learning how to play acoustic guitar, while Hunk picked up the ukulele. The two didn’t know when they’d need to know how to Salsa, but it was fun either way. As for their new instrumental talent, Hunk and Lance would frequently play together to pass the time on the weekends. It was a nice change of pace. This year, however, was different.

Hunk wasn’t participating.

 

Lance decided that he wanted to pick up hip hop dancing. Hunk thought it would be fun, but for Lance only. He did promise to come to the class and watch, however. There was no harm in that.  Hunk couldn’t help to feel bad, though. They always did things together, but this time around they couldn’t seem to agree on one thing. Hunk was fine with it. As long as Lance was happy.

That seemed to be Hunk’s life motto at this point. It’s almost sad.

 

Speaking of Lance, Hunk had been avoiding him for a few days now. Part of it was for his own sake, and part was so Lance could get himself together. Now that Lance was single, it was hard for Hunk to resist the urge to tell him about his feelings. He knew that wouldn’t end well so soon, though. It would overwhelm Lance, and Hunk could ruin any possible chance he had with him.

This can’t be the only thing on his mind.

 

It was Thursday night. There was nothing in particular going on for him, but Hunk felt that he needed to be productive. Lately, he’s been going to work, eating dinner, then wasting time in bed on his laptop or phone. Hunk was doing the latter, living up to his own expectations until he received a message from Pidge.

 

Pidge was a friend he and Lance met in high school. They always had the right amount of sass and snarky comments to make both Hunk and Lance feel embarrassed, while still maintaining a friendly enough tone. Pidge was always more open and honest with Hunk. Lance always seemed to rub them the wrong way, but everyone had their preferences. That didn’t stop the trio from hanging out from time to time, though.

 

After Hunk and Lance graduated and went off to college, they made sure to Skype with Pidge, who was a few years behind them. Eventually, when Pidge was finally on their way to college, they started to hang out again and rekindle their friendship.

Now, things were different. They all had jobs and responsibilities. Somehow, Hunk and Lance still managed to stay close, but Pidge was always in their own world. They worked for a tech support group, so they were on call and working almost every day. It sucked, but they were making money. There was no room to complain, honestly.

 

In other words, getting a text from Pidge surprised Hunk.

 

_ Msg; Pidge: Hey. Wanna get together soon? I have a few days off so I thought I should try to interact with society for once. _

 

The message put a smile on Hunk’s face. It’d been a while since he hung out with Pidge, so a change of pace was just what he needed.

 

_ Msg; Hunk: Of course! How’ve you been? (: _

 

_ Msg; Pidge: I’ve been okay. I think I’m having my mid-life crisis 20 years early, though. How are you? And is Lance okay? He’s been sulking on Facebook. _

 

As Hunk read Pidge’s text, a weight seemed to press down on his shoulders. Hunk was terrible at checking Facebook, but it was no surprise that Lance was starting to use his social media to vent about his personal life.

 

_ Msg; Hunk: Why? And no, Lance isn’t okay, but he will be… Probably. _

 

_ Msg; Pidge: I’ll tell you about it later. But anyway, that sucks that Nyma rejected him. But at least he’s not being hurt anymore. _

 

_ Msg; Hunk: Yeah, that’s true. I kind of wish I told Lance that I had a bad feeling about her. _

 

_ Msg; Pidge: Don’t you mean you wish you could have told Nyma to fuck off so you could have Lance to yourself? :P _

 

Well, they weren’t wrong, but Hunk never could have done that. Lance was happy, so who was he to interfere?

 

_ Msg; Hunk: Yes and no. But that’s a conversation for another time. _

 

Before Hunk could even put his phone down, it started to ring.

 

It was Lance.

 

After taking a deep breath, Hunk answered.

 

“Hey, Lance.” Did he sound distressed? He honestly hoped he didn’t.

 

“Hey, Hombre Grande. You remember that dance class I signed up for? Apparently, it starts tonight—I got the date wrong. Are you gonna come with me like you promised?” God, Hunk was starting to feel numb to the word ‘promise.’

 

“Oh, yeah. Definitely. Who’s driving?” Hunk asked as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Damn, now he actually has to put pants on.

 

“I’ll drive. Be ready in like… twenty.”

 

“Gotcha. See you in a little, then.”

 

After not speaking to Lance for a few days, things seemed to be fine over the phone. Hunk was surprised that Lance didn’t question him, but he was also thankful. He hadn’t prepared a proper excuse yet.

 

But, now he had to spend a few hours watching Lance dance. That would be interesting.

 

The moment Hunk and Lance set foot into the dance studio, they were already about ten minutes late. Lance got them lost trying to find the entrance, then turned the wrong way to find the studio itself. He wasn’t always the best at finding places, but he’d find his way… eventually.

 

Besides getting a few stares, the atmosphere seemed to be open and welcoming. Hunk didn’t feel uncomfortable watching from the sidelines since he wasn’t the only one. What made this more interesting was the fact that Shiro was standing with him. And with Shiro, came Keith.

 

Keith was taking the same class as Lance.

 

Hunk never thought that Keith would get into dancing, but he thought the same about Lance. Maybe Lance asked Keith to join him since Hunk declined? Hunk didn’t even know Keith was back from military training. Ten weeks goes by fast when you don’t particularly keep up with a person. Hunk never talked to Keith or Shiro that much, but he was around them quite a bit during high school because of Lance. Both Keith and Lance were on the baseball team all four years. They advanced to leadership positions by their senior year, Keith being the captain, and Lance the vice. The two were always competing over something. This class might spark those competitive feelings again.

 

As for Shiro, he was a few years older than the three of them. As they entered their freshman year of high school, Shiro was in his senior year. He was the captain of the football team, and fairly well known throughout the school. Somehow, he and Keith hit it off and stayed in touch after Shiro graduated.

 

Now, the four of them were here, together again. Keith looked the same, only with his hair tied up in a ponytail. Shiro… Shiro looked different. Now, he was sporting a long scar across his nose, and he was missing an arm. That was most likely an injury he sustained after being deployed for a few months. Hunk found it kind of cute that both Keith and Shiro enlisted in the military, though he imagined that their schedules didn’t work out that well.

 

Wait, why was that cute?

 

Besides Hunk’s odd thoughts, he thought he might as well pay attention to the class while he’s there. Or, the fact that Shiro was trying to get his attention—and has been for the past few minutes.

 

“Hey, Hunk. You there?” Shiro asked, now waving a hand in front of his face.

 

“H-Huh? Yeah, sorry, Shiro,” he started before a smile appeared on his face. “It’s been a while! I didn’t know both you and Keith were back. Uh… How’d it go?”

 

Shiro blinked, laughing dryly as he held up what was left of his right arm. “It was great, Hunk. Nothing could’ve nubbed the experience.”

 

Hunk stared at Shiro for a moment before glancing down at his arm. He fell silent, deep in thought once again. He’s missing an arm. He doesn’t have a prosthetic. He just came back from deployment.

 

“You wouldn’t by any chance getting a prosthetic soon, would you? Just a random question. You don’t have to answer if you’re not comfortable—“

 

“No, I am. Why?” Shiro seemed genuinely curious in Hunk’s blabbering, which honestly surprised him.

 

“Well, it’s just that my team got this assignment recently. I work at a mechanical engineering firm that’s partnered with a physical therapy firm—so what I’m saying is, we make prosthetics. Anyway, the assignment was to finally build and test this prototype I’ve been working on for a soldier that just came home who’s missing part of his right arm. Is that you?”

 

And Shiro stared. He stared for an uncomfortably long time before he cracked a smile and patted Hunk on the back. That was a positive reaction, at least.

 

“You know, I had no doubts that the guy making my prosthetic would be good at his job. I’m almost relieved that it’s you, Hunk.”

 

Hunk managed to laugh quietly as he rubbed the back of his head. Now that he knew that he’d be working on an arm for Shiro, he was more driven and excited to make this his best project yet.

 

“I’ll try my hardest, Shiro.” Hunk said as he flashed him a smile. He turned his attention to the class, where he saw Lance and Keith standing next to each other; they were learning basic dance moves at the moment. Everything seemed calm until he noticed Lance nudging Keith. Keith whipped his head around to give Lance a glare before flicking his arm.

 

This was the normal Lance and Keith that Hunk remembered from high school. It was almost laughable.

 

After about an hour and a half, the class ended, and everyone knew a short dance routine to practice for next week. It was nice to see Lance enjoy himself after his breakup, especially with a friend since Hunk was only watching from afar.

 

Keith and Lance walked out to the hallway where Shiro and Hunk were standing. Keith was surprised to see the two together, although Lance told him that Hunk was there. Maybe he was in his own world… whenever Lance was talking, anyway. Either way, Keith gave Hunk a small smile and a nod before looking towards Shiro.

 

“You ready to go?” He asked, his chest heaving from the workout.

 

“Yeah, you look tired, though. I’ll drive home.”

 

As the two spoke, Hunk couldn’t help but listen in. Keith and Shiro had been together for so long that they had a place of their own. That must have been nice.

 

“Shiro, you can’t drive home. You literally have one arm.” Keith said as he gestured to Shiro’s injury. Shiro furrowed his brows before responding.

 

“Keith, you drive with one hand all the time. I’ll be fine.”

 

“I—Yeah, but if I lose control, I have another hand to grab the wheel. What are you gonna use if that happens? Your  _ nub _ ?” Shiro stayed quiet after Keith retorted.

 

“Yeah?”

 

Hunk continued to listen in on their conversation as he sported a look of confusion. Lance was standing directly next to him, tapping away on his phone.

 

“Are you ready now, Big Guy?” Lance asked, now looking up at him. Hunk snapped back into reality before turning towards Lance with a nod.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

 

“Cool, let’s hit it.”

 

Having a change of pace felt nice. Hunk needed to get out of his house and actually do something—even if he just watched Lance dance and spoke with Shiro the entire time. It was better than wallowing in his own anxiety for hours on end.

 

After leaving the dance studio, Lance invited Hunk over for dinner. Which actually meant that he wanted Hunk to cook everything while he stood in the kitchen with him. Hunk didn’t mind, though. Cooking and baking eased his mind, especially if he was doing it for Lance. He didn’t know why that made him feel better, but he wasn’t going to question it. Maybe it was the domestic aspect of it?

 

Yeah, he wouldn’t question it.

 

It was probably best that he didn’t question a lot of things he and Lance did. That was their friendship.

 

What if they were better off as friends?

  
  



	6. What the Hell is a Cat Snake?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so bad at naming chapters so have this shitty one. But things are starting to pick up and look positive for both Hunk and Lance! ;)

That night was one of the first in a while that Hunk and Lance hung out for more than a few hours. Hunk was worried that things may turn awkward, or that Lance would bring up Nyma again, but neither happened. 

It was relieving. 

As Hunk laid back on his couch, eyes closed, he thought back to what he and Lance did the other night. That lead to mentally listing each thing he knew and liked about Lance, and how they tied together. Hunk was definitely a daydreamer—he came up with different scenarios in his head and how they could play out, and what he would do differently in each one. 

Last night, he made a particularly good decision. 

***

“Hey, Hunk, can you go grab my wine opener?” Lance asked as he set a bag of groceries down on the island counter. Hunk nodded, starting for the bedroom before stopping abruptly.

“Wait, it is in the bedroom, right? I mean, I know you leave it there sometimes but—“ 

“Yes, it is. And you know why it was there.” Lance gave Hunk a small glare before cracking a smile. He was trying to be positive, and Hunk noticed it immediately. Hunk nodded, then went to grab the opener. 

Once he entered the bedroom, he noticed something was off. Hunk’d been here countless times. He’d slept in Lance’s bed, been through his closet, and even cleaned his room a few times.

After standing in the doorway for a moment, he realized that the smell was different.  It wasn’t good… in all honesty, it was foul. Dark eyes scanned the room to find the source. It didn’t take long for him to find a large cage in the corner of Lance’s room.

Seeing a cage wasn’t that big of a surprise. In fact, Lance owned a dog, which meant that he owned a dog cage.

But the dog cage was always on the back porch.

Then Hunk heard something move from inside of the cage. He slowly walked towards the cage, hoping not to scare off whatever was in it. As he got closer, he realized what it was—sort of. Hunk carefully removed the animal from its cage, smiling and petting its light brown fur behind its ears. He then grabbed the wine opener and called out to Lance.

“Hey Lance? When did you get a uh… um. The thing. The… cat snake?” His eyes scanned over the animal again as he drew a blank. Why couldn’t he think of the name of this damn thing?

“The what—“ Lance started, calling out from the kitchen. Then, his laugh echoed through the halls. “You mean my ferret?” 

Oh. Right. It’s called a ferret.

Hunk walked out to the kitchen, holding the ferret in his left hand, and the wine opener in his right. Lance looked at him for a moment before speaking.

“His name is Kaltenecker. I got him a few days ago. Cool name, huh?” No, it was a weird name. Hunk took another look at the ferret, studying its body. He’d never held one before, or seen one in person for that matter. But then, he noticed something.

“Uh, Lance? I think Kaltenecker is a lady.”

Lance raised a brow, not responding just yet.

“I mean, I don’t think that’s a penis.” 

“So you’re looking at my woman’s junk? What a pervert.” Lance said as he took Kaltenecker into his hands. “I’ll just put her back so we can start dinner.” 

“I think you mean I, but alright.” It felt nice to joke around and be lighthearted with Lance like this. For some reason, it felt as if it had been ages since they’d just hung out. Time felt slower. Life felt slower. 

But it was fine. Sort of. 

When Lance came back to the kitchen, Hunk had started dinner. He cut up two chicken breasts and threw them into a pan, tending to it with a spatula. Lance leaned against the counter, playing with the leaves of a pineapple that were sitting out on the counter. 

“Hey, so, remember back in middle school when we had to bake in health class?” Lance started, “Do you remember what kind of muffins we almost burned?”

Hunk looked up from the pan, furrowing his brows as he thought back to almost sixteen years ago. “I think it was cinnamon apple? I dunno, why?” 

“Because I really want muffins. Also, it was pretty funny watching you attempt to make another batch in ten minutes.”

“You guys always made me do the bulk of the work in health,” Hunk said, looking over at Lance, then back to the pan. 

“Yeah, because you knew what you were doing. And you still do. I mean look at’cha!” Lance smiled as he leaned his elbow on the counter. “So, you need me to cut up the pineapple?”

Hunk stopped for a second. Lance with a knife? No.

“Depends on if you’re going to have fingers left… and if you actually know how to cut a pineapple.” 

Lance glanced down at the fruit, to Hunk, then back to the fruit. 

“Uh. I think you should cut the pineapple. I can do the chicken for you.”  Hunk handed Lance the spatula, and they switched places. After Hunk quickly sliced the fruit with precision, they went back to their original places, and continued their conversation. 

“In about a minute, you can put some of the pineapple in, and the broccoli.” Hunk glanced over to Lance, giving him a small smile before paying attention to the pan again. It was silent, but not the awkward kind of silence.

It was comfortable silence, with the pan sizzling and water boiling. This wasn’t abnormal for the two of them. Enjoying each other’s company without having to say a word was one thing that they both cherished. It was almost intimate. Thinking about it that way made Hunk’s heart tighten a bit. Before he could think of anything else, Lance broke the silence as he placed the pineapples and broccoli into the pan. 

“Remember that promise we made back in high school?” 

Hunk stopped what he was doing for a moment to process Lance’s question. This could have been something else. Lance should have forgotten that promise. Neither one of them have brought it up since they talked about it years and years ago.

“Um. Which one? We’ve probably made a lot.”  He laughed nervously, trying to focus on the food again. He can’t burn the food. This will not happen. 

“About getting married when we’re thirty. Come on, I know you remember that one. Your memory isn’t that bad.” 

He was right. It wasn’t. Hunk had replayed that moment in his head for years. It almost felt like a dream that Lance would even consider staying with him for the rest of his life. 

Hunk wanted that.

Hunk needed that.

“Oh, uh, yeah, I remember that. Why?” Hunk made sure to keep his eyes on the pan. If he looked at Lance, he might pull some… odd faces. His heart was beating rapidly. There was no reason for him to bring that up. Hunk could have gone a while before Lance brought up their promise. He’d spent so long trying to convince himself that it was just a joke, that Lance was just saying things late at night just to say them.

“I don’t know, I was just thinking about what things were like when we were younger.”

“Oh, yeah.” 

The silent fell upon them again. This time, it felt unnatural, as if it were Hunk’s fault that it became that way. He hated this. He hated feeling responsible for a million little things that could been fixed if he just had the confidence to speak up. 

“Were you serious about that, Lance?” There went the confidence. The amount of regret that filled in his heart almost made him sick.

“What? Why wouldn’t I be serious about that, Hunk?” It was then that Hunk stopped in his tracks. He stopped moving the spatula around the pan, his gaze blank and his jaw agape. Lance had been serious the whole time? Even so, that didn’t mean that he reciprocated his feelings. Hunk could still be Lance’s last possible choice. 

Lance most likely hadn’t thought about marrying Hunk at all. He expected to be with Nyma for the rest of his life. There was no reason for Hunk to get his hopes up, but he continued to stay positive.

Up until that moment, at least.

“Hey, buddy. You alright?” Lance asked as he placed a hand on Hunk’s shoulder. He jumped, coming back to himself. He almost burned the food.

“I—Yeah, I’m fine, I’m cool.” Hunk quickly stirred the food, then took it off of the burner. He let his guard down, and Lance noticed. That wasn’t good.

“Are you sure? I mean, you kind of zoned out.” Lance stepped closer, squeezing Hunk’s shoulder a bit.

“Uh, I think so?” Hunk stared down at the floor this time, completely avoiding eye contact with Lance. His heart was racing. Part of him wanted to tell Lance everything. Another part wanted to take off and go home.

He couldn’t do the ladder. There was no way in Hell.

“You don’t look fine. You gotta talk to me, man. You’ve been off for a few weeks.”

Lance was partially right. Hunk has felt this way for years on end, but his emotions haven’t threatened to come out until now.

Sometimes, it took a little bit of ‘fuck it’ to change things.

“Okay, okay. Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry. It’s just that I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Especially after what happened with you.” Lance didn’t respond, which meant that he was either thinking of what to say or he wanted Hunk to continue. He did the ladder.

“I mean, if I’m going to be more specific, I was thinking about how I’ve been harboring a lot of things from you for years now, but it kind of all sums up to one big thing that I never had the courage to bring up.” Hunk paused, then started to speak again. He knew that he was rambling, but this was how he spoke when he was nervous. “Well, I guess that actually wasn’t that specific so I should just say it, right?”

“Please, Hunk. For the love of God, what are you saying?” Lance sounded annoyed. That wasn’t good.

“Okay, I’m sorry. This might sound crazy, but I’ve had feelings for you for  _ years, _ now. I’m being completely serious, alright? I mean it. I just never brought it up because you were always after some guy or girl and I wanted you to be happy.” Hunk couldn’t bring himself to look at Lance anymore. Instead, he turned his attention to the pan in front of him and grabbed the spatula. Wait. He took it off of the eye already. That means that nothing else could distract him right now. 

Fuck.

Hunk kept his gaze down, not bothering to look at Lance. He stayed quiet, which scared him more. Maybe now wasn’t the time to bring this up. He should have kept his mouth shut. He could have stopped himself when he had the chance, but now it was too late.

“I almost asked if you were serious, but you definitely are. Uh. Okay. Let’s sit down.” Lance said as he reached out for Hunk’s shoulder. He flinched, not expecting Lance’s gentle touch so suddenly. However, he agreed, then made his way over to the couch with Lance. The two were silent for a good five minutes before Lance spoke up again.

“So you’ve felt this way for a long time, huh? I’m sorry for not realizing, Hunk.” Lance sounded sorry, as if this was his fault. Hunk took in a breath before answering.

“It’s not your fault. I never really showed it because I was too afraid of you possibly rejecting me.”

Lance stared at Hunk for a second. It appeared after everything Hunk said, Lance always went quiet. It made him nervous.

“If you would have said something before, I could’ve given you a chance, Big Guy…” Was Lance feeling sorry for him now? This wasn’t going in the direction Hunk wanted it to go.

“So you’re saying that I missed my chance, then?”

“I—No, I’m not saying that. I’m not saying that at all, Hunk.” Lance started, “I mean, I’ve thought about us being a thing but I didn’t want to compromise our friendship, you know?” Hunk furrowed his brows for a second. Lance thought about them being together before? That put a small smile on his face… until he heard the second part of his statement.

“I personally don’t think that we’d have a bad breakup if things were to happen, though. I mean, we’ve been friends for so long. We’d most likely go back to normal.” Eventually, Hunk could look Lance straight in the eye, his lips curling into a smile again. 

Lance raised a brow at Hunk before cracking a smile. That must have been a good thing.

“You know, you’re probably right,” said Lance, before falling silent again. The two looked at one another for a short moment, as if they were trying to find the right words to say. Instead of speaking, Hunk leaned forward to wrap his arms around Lance’s shoulders. His eyes closed as he hummed and tightened his grasp. It took Lance a few seconds to return the gesture, but it felt natural.

“Thanks, Lance.” Hunk whispered, leaning his head forward to rest on Lance’s shoulder. Lance laughed quietly before pulling back to tug on Hunk’s ear. Hunk groaned, let go of him, and gave a confused expression. “What was that for?”

“Because the food’s getting cold and I’m hungry. We can talk and eat at the same time,” Lance said as he stood up and made his way to the kitchen. Hunk stayed on the couch, watching Lance as he walked away. Maybe things were going to go his way after all.

He could only hope things got better from here.


	7. Firsts and Seconds

When Lance had his eyes on someone, his line of sight quickly turned into tunnel vision. Hunk has seen it happen multiple times—he’d talk about the person nonstop, try to constantly get their attention, and make slow advances toward them. This method either worked flawlessly, or became a train wreck.

Lance started to do the same with Hunk. They hung out more often than usual, and even started to stay over each other’s houses again. It was strange. Hunk wanted to enjoy the attention, but part of him had doubts. He’d spent all this time suffering in silence, but now that Lance is showing even the slightest bit of interest in him, he couldn’t help but to question it.

The last thing Hunk wanted was to be Lance’s rebound— it felt too soon for him to be over Nyma in the slightest. Sure, he was trying to move on, but it hadn’t been long enough. Now, Lance was trying to get even closer to Hunk (if it’s even possible).

It was Friday night. Lance had invited himself over to Hunk’s place after they’d gone out for drinks. Nothing was abnormal about that. What was abnormal was how little they drank. It didn’t bother Hunk at all, but it seemed like Lance had something in mind for later that night. Now, they were sitting on Hunk’s couch, watching tv as Lance’s head rested on his shoulder.

That was normal. They’d always been sort of intimate with each other. Of course, there were unspoken boundaries set in place, but Lance was starting to break those boundaries.

Lance’s fingers trailed along Hunk’s chest, tracing shapes and letters into the fabric of his shirt. His eyes were closed as a small smile crept onto his lips. His hand slowly found its way to Hunks shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before letting out a soft sigh. As Hunk’s chest rose and fell, Lance’s arm moved with it. Their legs were tangled between each other’s, with the warmth of Hunk’s body radiating onto Lance’s.

This was very, very uncomfortable for Hunk. He couldn’t just accept Lance’s sudden intimacy like this. It felt unnatural, fast paced, and awkward, as if Lance were trying to force something between them. The idea made Hunk’s face twist as a quiet groan filled his throat. This wasn’t right.

“Hey, hey, Lance? Can you, uh, sit up a little?” Hunk asked, shifting his position slightly. Lance slowly opened his eyes as his brows furrowed.

“Something wrong?” Lance looked confused, and slightly hurt.  Maybe Hunk should have kept his mouth shut, but something just didn't feel right. He'd spent years and years pining and yearning for Lance to give him attention like this, but now that he had it, he didn't want it. This wasn’t how he imagined it. Sure, life wasn’t going to play out exactly how he wanted, but he at least had some control over how their relationship started.

“No, my arm… my arm was falling asleep. That’s all.” That wasn’t all, but Hunk couldn’t bring himself to tell Lance that he was uncomfortable. He had to do something about this, but moving at a quicker pace wasn’t alright with him.

Maybe he should get over it. Why was he complaining now that he had Lance? Hunk felt ungrateful and a bit selfish. Normally, he’d be alright if things didn’t go his way, but after waiting this long for Lance to come around, Hunk wanted everything to be perfect.

But neither one of them were perfect people.

Lance was obnoxious, clingy, and defensive. On the other hand, Hunk had no sense of personal space, was short tempered, and a skeptic. Somehow, the two balanced each other out with mutual understanding and patience. To Hunk, it was meant to be, as if they should have been together years ago.

Obviously, them being together wasn’t in Lance’s plans unless deemed necessary, and necessary meant ‘if worst came to worst’.

Lance may be preparing for his ‘worst’ situation, then.

Hunk refused to be that.

He also refused to believe that he wasn’t going to get something out of this, though.

_ Thirteen years prior… _

Being thirteen years old barely had any perks. There was drama between friend groups over the dumbest things, puberty was an apparent happenstance, and everything was starting to quicken in pace.

Some boys’ voices were cracking and squeaking, girls were…  _ developing in higher places,  _ and well, Hunk was just there. With Lance. As usual.

After school, Lance and Hunk walked home together. It was a routine that they both knew like the backs of their hands. Lance always met Hunk at his locker at the end of the day, said bye to their friends at the same time, then headed out. The same routine rolled over into high school.

On certain days, they would go to Hunk’s house. On days like today (Wednesdays, to be exact), they would go to Lance’s. As they entered Lance’s house, they sat their backpacks down by the door, and went for the kitchen. Lance’s mother seemed to live in the kitchen, if Hunk was being honest. She was always cooking something—although that was a given. They had a large family. It was hard to feed five children and two adults all at once; someone was always hungry.

Although Hunk loved coming to Lance’s house, there was always a language barrier between him and the family. All of Lance’s older siblings, plus his parents, spoke Spanish. Their English was enough to get by, but there were many moments of awkward silence whenever Hunk came over. What made it worse was that Lance’s English was better than his Spanish. At times, he would have trouble understanding his own mother. He knew basic Spanish, but to his family, it wasn’t enough. Lance always seemed a bit upset when his mother would speak fully in Spanish.

That was the problem with being a first-generation American born Cuban. Hunk didn’t totally understand why Lance’s Spanish wasn’t that good, but he never made him feel bad about it.

After getting a small snack consisting of two microwaved hot pockets and soda, the two went to Lance’s room.

“Okay, so we can either play Bully, or Soul Caliber, right?” Hunk asked, going to Lance’s video game stash. Every day had a designated video game day. Wednesdays were dedicated to Bully and Soul Caliber. Hunk didn’t like Bully as much, but if Lance wanted to play it, he wouldn’t say no.

“Yeah, get Soul Caliber out. We played Bully last Wednesday, didn’t we?” Lance said as he sat down on his bed with a thud. Hunk nodded, remembering back to the week before as he took out the game, and placed it into the disc reader.

“Mmmhm.”

“Y’know, I really don’t like Bully that much… I mean… you just bully people. That’s not nice. At least in Soul Caliber it’s okay between everyone that they’re fighting.” Hunk said with a shrug. He grabbed the controller since the game was single player, then sat down next to Lance with a thud.

“Hey, Hunk? Can I ask a question?” Lance turned to Hunk, a confused look on his face. Hunk blinked a few times before answering.

“Yeah?” Honestly, he didn’t know what to expect. It was Lance—he says anything at this point.

“Have you kissed anyone yet? I mean, you would’ve told me if you have, right? Since we’re… literally always together…” The question threw Hunk off for a second. He’s never thought about kissing anyone, really. He knew a few people in their class had their first kisses already, but there probably wasn’t anyone that he wanted to kiss, anyway.

“No? Why?” Hunk’s brows furrowed as he waited for a response.

“Okay, because I haven’t had mine either…” Lance’s voice grew quiet at that. Why was he bringing up kissing?

“Oh, okay.” Well, what else was Hunk supposed to say to that. “Oh, the game’s starting up.” As the music played on the tv screen, Lance started to shift around in place. It was like he felt uncomfortable for some reason.

“Do you wanna be my first kiss, Hunk?” Lance’s words came out quick. Hunk felt himself freeze up as he dropped the controller onto the bed. Lance had to have been joking, right? He always makes jokes out of nowhere—they were always funny. This one wasn’t too funny, though. Hunk took in a deep breath as he turned to face Lance.

“Why?” Hunk asked.

“Idunno, I wanna know what kissing feels like. Plus, I trust you, Hunk.” Lance had a shy smile form on his lips. It was nice to know that Lance trusted him with his first kiss, and to be honest, Hunk trusted Lance as well.

“Okay, then um. How should we…? Should we try it like in the movies where the guy dips the girl? Who would be the girl out of the two of us? Probably you since you’re shorter, right?” Now Hunk was worried. First kisses were special. His mother always told him that the girl he kisses for the first time will always remember it, but Lance definitely isn’t a girl. Maybe he’ll still remember it, anyway. This was supposed to be a special moment for the two of them.

Oh god.

“Just… face me and we’ll both lean in, okay?” Lance was fully facing Hunk now, his legs criss-crossed and his hands resting on his knees. His posture was… oddly straighter than normal.

“Okay…” Hunk was definitely sweating now. This was more nerve wrecking than he thought it would be.

Lance looked towards Hunk, taking in a deep breath before licking his lips. Hunk stared back, not knowing what to do with himself.

“Should we like, count down from three, then lean in?”

Before Hunk could await an answer, Lance was leaning forward. His eyes immediately shut, but he felt nothing on his lips. Instead, Lance’s face ended up on his shoulder. What.

“Sorry, I uh…Lost my balance. I think I’m too far away…” Lance was visibly embarrassed, now. It was almost calming. Hunk couldn’t hold back his laugh as Lance placed his hands on his shoulders to pull himself closer. He let go, then cracked a smile as he let out a huff.

“It’s okay, Lance.” Hunk was starting to feel more comfortable now that they were both smiling. It was less awkward that way.

After the two got themselves together, they leaned in at the same time, eyes closed, hearts beating. Their noses bumped a few times before getting it right, but eventually, their lips pressed against each other’s. It wasn’t anything magical like the movies described, but Hunk enjoyed the feeling.

To be completely honest, he was upset when Lance pulled away.

“So…” Lance started, lifting his hand to scratch at the back of his head. “That’s what kissing feels like, I guess.”

Hunk nodded in agreement before answering. “Yeah… It was kind of nice.” That was a bit of a lie. Hunk really enjoyed kissing Lance, but he wouldn’t openly admit it.

“Do you want to try again? Just to make sure we’re getting it right?” Lance asked with a sheepish smile. Hunk nodded almost immediately as he shifted to get more comfortable.

“Yeah… Yes. Sure. I’m okay with that.”

They never ended up playing Bully that afternoon.

_ Thirteen years preceding… _

“Hey, Hunk?” Lance was sitting up a bit now, but continued to lean against Hunk’s frame. “Do you remember that time we agreed to be each other’s first kiss?”

Hunk thought back to when they were 13 years old. They were pretty dumb at that age, but that was to be expected of boys. Hunk never regretted the fact that Lance was his first kiss. If anything didn’t work out in the future, he at least had that to hold on to.

In theory, it was pretty sad.

“I don’t think I could’ve forgotten it.” Somehow, talking about this made Hunk calmer. They hadn’t actually talked about it before. Hunk assumed that it was something that they’d never speak of again unless they really needed to.

Apparently, now was that time.

“I can’t believe I missed the first time I tried.” Lance said with a laugh. Hunk wasn’t surprised then, and he wasn’t surprised now, either. It was Lance—he was just as clumsy as himself.

“Are you sure? Because I kind of expected it to happen.”

“You didn’t have faith in me, Hunk? That’s kind of cruel.” Lance sat up a bit more now, trying to get a good look at Hunk’s face.

“If I’m being completely honest, no. Sometimes you go to lean on walls and counters and you miss.” Hunk chuckled quietly as he too, sat up. Lance was leaning his head on his hand, now, with his elbow resting at the top of the couch.

“Would you have faith in me now?”

“Maybe. You’ve had practice since then.” Hunk knew what was coming of this—he could tell by the tight feeling in his chest. It was a good feeling, though. He could forget about feeling like a possible rebound for a second, he could have Lance in his arms.

Shit, he can’t pass this up, now.

Lance reached forward to push some of Hunk’s hair back. After he did so, Lance made himself comfortable on Hunk’s lap. His hand then rested on the back of his head and his expression softened. At that, Hunk felt that tight feeling in his chest go away. Instead, he felt light, and a bit hot.

It felt exactly like their first time.

Hunk extended his hands toward Lance’s face to softly cup his cheeks. He pulled him closer, and closer, and closer until their lips finally met. Hunk couldn’t believe that he waited so long to tell Lance how he felt. Kissing him again felt ten times better than it did the first time. It was magical. He swore he could hear sparks flying behind them.

It didn’t take long for Lance to press himself into Hunk. One hand turned into two, gripping onto Hunk’s dark brown hair. Lance took things slowly and carefully—a definite contrast to his way of life, really. Hunk appreciated that. Lance almost always had Hunk’s best interest in mind.

Waiting this long may have been worth it.

Lance was the first to pull back, but moved his hands to rest on Hunk’s shoulders. Hunk’s hands shifted down to Lance’s waist to hold him in place. They silently looked at each other in admiration, their shoulders rising and falling as they caught their breaths. Hunk was the first one to crack a smile, then burst into a laughing fit. Lance quickly followed along, leaning forward as he laughed. Their heads collided through it all, which caused their laughter to escalate.

As they calmed, their smiles remained as their foreheads still touched. Hunk reached up to Lance’s back to rub at it a bit, to which Lance let out a blissful sigh. Any negative thoughts either of them had slowly faded away as they drank in the moment they were sharing.

Hunk could get used to this as long as everything worked out between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY FINALLY DID THE SMOOCHIN YALL!!! Also I'm sorry this took so long!!

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to my memes Kim and Harleigh for beta reading this mess 
> 
> Also, to clear up the occupations exhibited in the characters so far:  
> Hunk: Mechanical engineer with a focus in medical care  
> Shay: Physical Therapist  
> Lance: High school guidance counselor  
> Pidge: Geek Squad Tech Guru(yes, I'm serious)  
> Shiro: Soldier  
> Keith: Airforce pilot


End file.
